Bureau Vallée 2 finishes seventh in Transat Jacques Vabre Imoca class

Louis Burton and Servane Escoffier, on Bureau Vallée 2, have finished seventh in the Imoca class of the 13^th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre after crossing the finish line in the Bay of All Saints in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil on Tuesday, November 20, 2017 at 04:37:58 (UTC), 15 days, 16 hours 02 minutes and 58 seconds after leaving Le Havre, Normandy, France.

Bureau Vallée 2 covered the theoretical course of 4,350 nautical miles at an average speed of 11.58 knots but actually sailed 4,768 nautical miles at an average speed of 12.68 knots. It finished 02 days 08 hours 26 minutes and 12 seconds behind the winner, St Michel-Virbac.

On the old Banque Populaire, winner of the last Vendée Globe, the duo who are a couple on land and sea, Louis Burton and Servane Escoffier were in the mix at the front from the start. They were going well in the fourth place in the wake of the future podium of Salvador de Bahia for the whole first week.

As the Doldrums approached, they positioned themselves the furthest west of the fleet, with multiple gybes for what they hoped would be an ideal entry into the Doldrums. But from theory to practice, ocean racing is sometimes cruel. After three difficult days in the Intertropical Convergence Zone, they lost three places overall. Despite being faster in reaching conditions, they exited too long after Bastide Otio/Initiatives-Cœur, to catch up in reaching conditions. 

Like the skippers on Malizia II and Initiatives-Cœur, Servane and Louis are still getting used to their new foiling beast and will have the satisfaction of completing this Route du Café and banking valuable experience.